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INFORMATION RESOURCES Florida Solar Energy Center 300 State Road 40 I Cape Canaveral, Fla. 32920 The Florida Solar Energy Center claims to be one of the largest and most active alternativeenergy resource centers in the U. S. Though the 16-acre facility is part of the Florida State University system (it's administered by the University of Central Florida), its purview isn't limited to that state. Research conducted at the Center relates to any warm, humid climate, including significant portions of the Southeast. Builders in just about any part of the country can benefit from the Center's research on passive-solar cooling. The major research and development programs at FSEC involve photovoltaics, solar water-heating systems, energy-efficient building designs, daylighting and natural ventilation techniques. The Center tests and certifies solar collectors, conducts long-term tests of photovoltaic arrays and evaluates solar water heaters. In addition, it sponsors frequent workshops and provides curriculum support to primary and secondary schools that teach energy efficiency. Of particular interest to builders are FSEC's full-scale prototypes of energy systems and energy-efficient structures. Their Southeast Regional Experiment Station includes three energy-efficient prototype homes designed in part to test the integration of residential photovoltaic systems with public utilities. STEP (Solar Training and Education Project) is a nifty series of six working solar water-heating systems mounted on six full-scale roofs, each with a different roofing material. The assemblies were built close to the ground, making them easy to study. When I visited STEP, I was surprised at how convenient it was to study and compare different construction techniques. It's easy to see how solar collectors should be flashed in a tile roof when you can climb a stairway right next to the thing and look at how the experts did it. If you can't make it to Cape Canaveral, a 30-minute VHS videotape ($30) is now available that shows the entire construction sequence. FSEC publications include both consumer and technical offerings. Graphics are a weak spot; diagrams are sometimes vague and difficult to read, and photo reproduction is frequently poor. But the information is usually based on first-hand research-all too rare these days-and you'll never run out of references to follow up on if you want to learn more. Here's a sampling of what's available: Design Note Series-The seven short publications in this series are introductions to passive-solar cooling topics. Each one includes a short bibliography, and three of the notes are particularly useful. "Passive Cooling Categorizations" provides capsule descriptions of ten basic passivecooling techniques. "Radiant Energy Transfer and Radiant Barrier Systems in Buildings" explains those techniques in simple terms, and briefly describes how and where radiant barriers can reduce residential cooling loads. Aluminum foil is a great radiant barrier if you face it toward an air space, and after reading 80 Fine Homebuilding this you'll know why. "Designing and Installing Radiant Barrier Systems" takes the next step, examining the how-to of installation. Energy Note Series-Four-pagers all, the best bets here are "A Checklist for Building an Energy-Efficient Home in Florida" and "Passive Cooling Ideas for the Southeast." Between the two, you'll get enough design guidelines to keep your new house from becoming a live-in solar cooker. Most of the points noted on the checklist seem based on common sense, but a few are puzzlers. For example, why should operable windows used for cross ventilation be wider than they are high! Those of us who are more familiar with passive-solar heating than with passive-solar cooling might benefit from some additional information here. General Publications-The techniques and products associated with solar water heating seem to be improving, but the installations, unfortunately, are not always trouble free. I talked recently to a plumber on the West Coast who said he has occasionally been hired by exasperated home owners to disconnect malfunctioning solar hot-water systems. For those who have such a system, "Turning on the Sun: A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water Heating" will be a welcome publication. It describes common problems (particularly control-system failures), and presents a checklist that follows a symptom/remedy format to help resolve them. There are several other good resources among the 29 publications in this category. "Inside the Florida Solar Energy Center" should be your first stop for learning more about what the Center does. And you can subscribe to the free quarterly newsletter The Solar Col/ector to keep track of FSEC activities. The newsletter covers legal issues related to solar energy and publicizes new applications of solar technology. "Energy Information Sources" lists the names and addresses of 32 national and state resources for energy information. Each listing is accompanied by a concise description of what the organization offers. "Thermal Performance Ratings" lists all the models of flat-plate solar collectors that have been tested by FSEC, and rates the thermal efficiency of each. The list is updated quarterly, and includes a method for figuring out which system supplies the most energy per dollar spent. Using the ratings along with a bid or two from your local installer, you should be able to navigate through the maze of products. There's a similar list for pool-heating products. Principles of Low Energy Building Design in Warm, Humid Climates ($35) is a fat, threering training manual that provides the theoretical background for daylighting design, ventilation, dehumidification, photovoltaics, and solar hot water. It collects and amplifies material available in some of the other FSEC publications, but builders will find the package pretty short on construction details. Installation Series-Publications in this category include the Solar Water and Pool Heating Course Manual ($37.50) and a volume on commercial pool-heating systems. The 200 or so pages in the course manual were prepared as a looseleaf textbook for the center's Solar Installation Short Course. Schematic diagrams in the manual show what feeds into what, and what comes out of what, while introductory chapters provide solid information on the physics of solar water heating. Beginners should be able to wade through it, though engineers probably won't find enough technical information. Professional Papers-The entries in this series were originally prepared for conference presentation. In terms of numbers-SO entries-this is the largest category of FSEC publications. The writing can be stiff and academic sometimes, but it's not insufferable. Most of the existing homes in Florida were originally built of uninsulated concrete block. "Passive Cooling Retrofit Applications for Residential Concrete Block Structures in Warm, Humid Climates" (5 pp.) takes a look at ways to reduce cooling loads on these structures. Researchers simulated heat gain in houses built with four retrofitted wall configurations. One of the things they discovered was that a layering of R-6 foil-backed rigid insulation, a }.i-in. vented airspace and exterior siding completely eliminates solar heat gain when applied to the outside of a masonry-block wall. Another simulation using a different modeling technique, explained in "Computer Simulations of East/West Wall Design Options for Warm Humid Climates" (7 pp.), came to a similar conclusion. "Wingwalls to Improve Natural Ventilation: Full-Scale Results and Design Strategies" offers one way to deal with the thorny problem of providing cross-ventilation to a room with only one exterior wall. If the room is on the windward side of the house, wingwalls can sometimes help. They're ground-to-eave walls that project about 4 ft. from the house near a window, creating a "positive pressure inlet and a negative pressure (suction) outlet, in effect cross-ventilating the room." And lest you think that all trade literature lacks a sense of humor, I introduce " 'La Sucka'-A Wind Driven Ventilation Augmentation and Control Device." The 5-pp. paper describes the construction and testing of a roof-mounted vent with simple backdraft dampers that uses differences in wind-created air pressure to exhaust air from a house. The name of the vent may be light-hearted, but it could be capable of doing some serious work. Fact Sheets-If you've studied the concepts of passive-solar cooling and are ready to build, you'll probably want to check "Sources for Foil Radiant Barriers." It lists manufacturers and Southern regional sales offices for foil-faced polyisocyanurate insulation, foil-faced laminated sheathing, and single and multi-layer foil products. -Mark Feirer preferred). A lop. list of consumer FSEC hours: Phone publications is available, but there 's no list that includes all publications; you 'll have to ask for what you want by subject. Most publications are free. (305) 783-0300 5 8 a. m. to p. m. (Eastern). (written inquiries are